Hull City 2007/2008 Season Review Part Two

DECEMBER

Hull City began the month at home to struggling Cardiff looking to make it four wins from five. They were well on course until a spectacular shot from central defender Roger Johnson with virtually the last kick of the game earned them a 2-2 draw. Despite being so close to the three points it has to be said that a point was about the most they deserved as Cardiff belied their lowly league position and produced one of the best performances from a visiting side all season.

Although the festive period was fast approaching, the following week must have felt like Halloween as the Tigers suffered successive thumping’s away from home. Despite having the better of the first half, City imploded after the break and surrendered to a 0-3 defeat at a gradually improving Preston. Four days later and another thumping at a Stern John inspired Southampton (0-4) resurrected the fears of yet another dogfight.

The capitulation at St Mary’s can be argued to have been the turning point of the season. City put in a slick performance to see off Leicester 2-0 at the KC, with Caleb Folan finally notching his first goal in a Tigers shirt. A 1-1 draw at Charlton, in which the Tigers dominated, suggested that the winter blues of a fortnight ago may be behind them. Further weight was added to that belief with a fantastic 2-0 win against Wolves on Boxing day. The year ended with a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, notable mainly for the stunning free kick from Dean Windass.

LEAGUE RECORD AT THE END OF DECEMBER

P25 W10 D7 L8 F30 A28 pts 37



JANUARY

2008 began with a terrific 1-1 draw at high fling Stoke in a game the Tigers dominated.

A Run of five unbeaten games including 3 victories was interrupted with the 3rd round of the FA Cup away to Plymouth. A weakened City went down 2-3 despite a brace of goals from Dean Windass. An evening televised home game against West Brom saw City put in an excellent performance, but undeservedly slump to a 1-3 defeat. At 0-2 down, Garcia provided hope with a terrific goal, but WBA held on before sealing it with the last kick as City had piled everybody forwards. It was two and a half weeks before the Tigers next took to the patch in a terrible game against Coventry. However, City stole all 3 points in stoppage time with an excellent goal from Folan. They were poor and probably deserved these three points for the performance against West Brom rather than this one. City ended the month in a comfortable 11th place.

LEAGUE RECORD AT THE END OF JANUARY

P28 W11 D8 L9 F33 A32 pts 41



FEBRUARY

For the second time in a month, City once again made the long trip down to Devon to face Plymouth, however this time they came back with a win, and Windass scored at Home Park for the third time this season. A week later Boaz Myhill had an off day and made crucial errors as Blackpool found themselves 2-0 up just after the break. The introduction of Caleb Folan instigated the recovery, he scored with Dean Windass notching the leveller. City could have won it but had to settle for a disappointing 2-2 draw. A midweek trip to Norwich saw City put in a good away performance with Frazier Campbell’s goal ensuring a hard-earned 1-1 draw.

Yet another laboured home performance allowed relegation threatened Colchester leave the KC with a deserved 1-1 draw. The current form was less than encouraging ahead of a difficult trip to West Bromwich Albion. Early on, the Tigers appeared less than daunted, and West Brom seemed to be surprised at the way we were taking the game to them. A touch of class from Jay-Jay Okocha and terrific goal from Campbell put City 1-0 up in the 29th minute. There was no initial reaction from the Baggies but they started to dominate in the last ten minutes of the half. Zoltan Gera thought he had equalised only for it to be flagged for offside, but a classy pass from Kevin Phillips onto the head of Roman Bednar to equalise shortly before the break meant the teams went in level

The hosts started the second half much the same as the first and never really got going. A terrific run and shot from Caleb Folan put the Tigers 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go. Albion had a great chance in stoppage time after terrific work from sub Luke Moore presented Zoltan Gera with a tap into an open goal which he inexplicably blasted into the ground. A terrific result and one that started to get City fans dreaming of the play-offs. ‘we’re going to Wembley’ echoed around a near-deserted Hawthorns as the Tigers faithful took in the delight of what had just unfolded before their eyes. They had just beaten the team unanimously considered by far the best in the division, and on their own patch. All of a sudden, the prospect of the play-offs was starting to seem more than just a fantasy.



LEAGUE RECORD AT THE END OF FEBRUARUY

P33 W13 D11 L9 F40 A37 PTS 50



MARCH

The result at the Hawthornes meant City would head to Bristol full of confidence. They suffered an unfortunate 1-2 defeat but bounced back three days later with a resounding 2-0 win at home to Burnley. The first half display was little short of fantastic, yet all the headlines in the second half went to referee Mike Riley who sent off 2 players from each side. Folan and Okocha were dismissed in a controversial 45 minutes. Next up was Derby day, City easily dispatching struggling Scunthorpe 2-0 a result which put the Tigers into the top 6 for the first time.

It was a dream to see the Tigers in the play-off positions, but few believed they could stay there, particularly those outside the club. Typically, Stephen McPhail’s early goal led to a 0-1 defeat at Cardiff. However the following Saturday, Southampton arrived at the KC in a match which signalled the beginning of a remarkable run of form. Revenge was to be so sweet as the men from St. Mary’s were swept aside in stunning fashion. 5-0 and with 5 different scorers, the biggest win for City since beating Crewe 7-1 in 1994. 3-1 and 2-0 wins at Colchester and Leicester set up a monster of a match at home to Watford.

All of a sudden thoughts of an unlikely play-off place had been replaced by hopes of automatic promotion and even the title. With Watford easily dispatched 3-0 it looked as though nothing was going to stop the Tigers. 5 games to go, a game in hand on Stoke, destiny was calling.



LEAGUE RECORD AT THE END OF MARCH

P41 W19 D11 L11 F58 A41 pts 68



TO BE CONCLUDED